The Scottish Parliament today heard calls to taking the fire-ravaged Mackintosh building from Glasgow School of Art.

Politicians are today hearing a range of views on the future of the Mackintosh building which was again gutted by its second major fire in four years during the summer.

The Scottish Parliament’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee has today received submissions from academics, local residents and alumni as they discuss the fire, the building's future and just what lessons have been learned by Glasgow School of Art (GSA), the current custodians.

Submissions to the Committee and a statement from GSA have offered contradictory ambitions for the building’s future, with some keen to take it away from GSA and others adamant it must remain a place of study.

Several written submissions were made to the committee, including one by Roger Billcliffe. Billcliffe is regarded as one of Scotland’s leading Charles Rennie Mackintosh experts and a former curator of the Mackintosh collection at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

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Writing to the Committee, Billcliffe said: “This seems to be a suitable time to consider relieving the [Glasgow] School [of Art] of its responsibility for the Mackintosh building…

“There will be other suggestions for future uses of the school but they should bear in mind that the building is itself a work of art and should be treated and protected accordingly. It would be unthinkable to restore a work of art from the National Galleries, say, and then offer access to it to the person who damaged it in the first place.

“But this is the scenario if the building is still to be retained by the School of Art on its current basis ...

“Any answer (and none has been forthcoming so far) from the School’s administration to these questions will confirm its unfitness as a custodian of this building, a work of art that is recognised across the world as the most important in Scotland.”

Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh building is to be partially demolished on safety grounds after it was gutted by a second devastating fire (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Anthony Sully, a GSA graduate, also voiced concern to the Committee in a different submitted statement.

He said: “When I visited GSA in the 1980’s I was in awe of the building to such an extent that I could not believe that it was in use and open to the wear and tear of students and their activities. I felt that it was sacrilegious to continue to use a masterpiece that should have become a museum as so many historic buildings have become that have become overtaken by modern usage.”

However, while much of the contents of the submissions to the Committee blame GSA and its management for the fires, some are supportive.

Stuart Robertson, Director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, highlighted the original intention of the building as an art school and stressed that, once rebuilt, it must continue to serve that purpose.

He ended his submission to the Committee by saying: “Rebuilding the Mackintosh Building must not be relegated to a mere museum, but remain a functioning art school, as Mackintosh created.

“What matters is that the next generation of students can push open those swing doors, walk in and study art in the Mack.”

Ewan Kennedy, a local resident, has expressed his desire to see the building come into public ownership and be used to celebrate the work done by graduates of GSA.

“This seems to be a suitable time to consider relieving the School of its responsibility for the Mackintosh building" (Image: Chris Watt/Getty Images)

He suggested: “My proposal would be for the exact replica to be taken into public ownership, ideally as part of a group of new buildings on the sites of all the now destroyed ones down to Sauchiehall Street and to be used as an art museum and gallery, housing principally works by those who studied at GSA, but with space for shows by bodies such as RGI and exhibitions of the type that should be on at GOMA but sadly aren’t.”

When approached by Glasgow Live for comment, a representative for GSA said they expected to participate in future hearings on the matter themselves.

He said: "Parliamentary Committees invite individuals and organisations with an interest in a subject to contribute to a process of information gathering, and the four witnesses who took part in today’s hearing have shared their particular perspectives.

“We anticipate being to be invited to participate in a future hearing as part of the process of enabling the panel to achieve its stated aim of ascertaining how we got to the current position and what lessons were learned.

“As regards the future of the Mackintosh Building, we have already declared our intent. The Glasgow School of Art will rebuild the Mackintosh Building and bring it back as a fully functioning Art School as Mackintosh himself envisaged.

“The Mackintosh Building was conceived as a place where creativity and innovation would flourish. Its unique design has attracted generations of students to Glasgow, many of whom have stayed on and contributed to make the city one of Europe’s leading centres of creative production.

“The Glasgow School of Art will ensure that the Mackintosh Building continues to play a key role in the life of the School, of Garnethill and of Glasgow for generations to come”.